Post by Basement Cat on Feb 17, 2018 0:35:28 GMT -5
Hi. Let's review why FernXIvy is a pointless plot device and adds nothing new. I will be reviewing my personal pet peeves on it, why it does nothing revolutionary, and address fandom complaints.
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Personal Pet Peeves
First of all, I utterly hate that Kate and the writers are trying to create this 'groundbreaking' pairing of a sensitive male and tough female, and then claiming it's something never done before. And then shoehorning and shoving it into your face.
If I wrote a story about breaking some gender norm, such a guy wearing dresses, then blatantly shoved it in the reader's face, and touting how progressive I am, it would belittle the reader's intelligence that I didn't think they could read more subtle and nuanced themes on their own. It insults the reader, even. A good relationship happens naturally and without forcing the readers to pick the pieces up and have the authors force these pieces together.
Second, they have zero chemistry. Fernsong was created solely to be a plot device, and one that satellites around Ivypool. He does nothing else, being regulated to a cardboard cutout Ivypool apparently is in love with. It's like JayXHalf, in that all that encompasses Half Moon's personality is her feelings for Jayfeather. If Fernsong was only made to subvert Clan stereotypes and has no other reason beyond existing, that is 1: lazy writing, and 2: insulting to the character.
Third, IVYPOOL SHOWED NO SIGNS OF THIS BEFORE! Nowhere before did she behave like this! I doesn't make sense for her to up and suddenly fall in love when her character has previously shown she isn't that type of character. She directly disapproves of Dovewing's lovestruck nature, is uncaring about the relationships in ThunderClan, and only pushes Dovewing with Bumblestripe because he thinks he would have been better than 'mangy old Tigerheart.' The point is, Ivypool was never shown to behave like this.
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Why It Does Nothing Revolutionary
I'll be frank. Gender stereotypes aren't prevalent in Warrior society.
For one, queens stay in the nursery because having kits is rough, and their bodies have to recover before they can hunt and fight again. They can leave whenever they want, as was the case with Squirrelflight. In fact, the Clan all watch over the kits, not just the mother. So having Fernsong in there serves no logical purpose, because queens are queens for physical reasons. Unless there is a queen who still has milk, Ivypool will have to feed her kits until they're weaned from milk. Fernsong cannot biologically provide the same sustenance. Fernsong is there to be a concept. And that concept cannot physically do the same task as the queens.
Second, this concept adds nothing new. There are plenty of tough female characters in Warriors who are queens. Ivypool wanting to keep hunting and fighting despite being a queen is not revolutionary. In fact, one could argue all the queens in Warriors fit this, because the very nature of their environment requires them to be strong and able to fend for themselves.
Warriors does not have the same gender roles as our real world society has/used to have. Both genders are expected to do the same tasks and same roles, and there is minimal discrimination against one gender to another. The biggest you'll see of this is the writers themselves tending to excuse male characters for their actions more than the female characters, but in-universe this is not the case in the modern Clan era. Ferncloud is not any less important than Thornclaw, and Lionblaze is treated with the same level of expectation as Icecloud. Both genders do the same roles. Both have equal opportunity.
Third, gentle, soft male characters are not a rarity. You have had Littlecloud, Ravenpaw, Smudge, Brackenfur, Kestrelflight, Flametail, Hollowflight prior the DF, Onewhisker, etc...Fernsong is not a rarity or a groundbreaking concept. A male queen is not a groundbreaking concept either.
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Addressing Fandom Complaints
Now, let's address some of the complaints I hear thrown around about disliking FernXIvy.
1. "They must be mad because their ship isn't canon." Particularly, it pertains to Blossomfall. The biggest argument I see is that 'they must be tumblr users because they hate FernXIvy.' These are generalizations with no backup to prove the point, and attempts to divide people with 'us vs them' rhetoric. I have not seen anyone mention they dislike the pairing because BlossomXIvy didn't happen.
Instead, what I have consistently observed is people giving reasons as to why the shipping seems out of nowhere with no development and does not make logical sense from a narrative perspective.
2. "They're being sexist and insinuating that females can't be mothers and also be queens, as if the two are mutually exclusive."
I have barely seen that either. This is yet another 'us vs them' extremist generalization, and nothing is shown to prove this point.
Instead, what I notice is that people bring it up that it makes no sense from a narrative perspective given her previous behaviors for her to get a mate, not because Ivypool will be made a 'weak' character if she is made a queen. Again, this is jumping to conclusions.
3. "They're being way too critical and should just let people ship what they want."
This isn't some personal attack. It's criticism against the shipping, not people who ship it. People can like what they want.
However, that doesn't mean I have to feel the same way, or anyone else who dislikes the pairing. Criticism is not a bad thing.
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So, to conclude, FernXIvy's only purpose is to be a concept, with Fernsong's personality revolving around Ivypool just to be her mate and make a 'statement', but ultimately it ends up pointless. Nothing new is added, and with it being blatantly shoved in your face, it's just insulting the reader's intelligence.
If they really want to make a statement, they can address the stigma in the Clans for she-cats to have a mate. Hollyleaf never took a mate, so would it be a stretch for them to just let characters stay single, and/or include more asexual characters? If they want more sensitive toms, then make more Ravenpaws and Littleclouds. There's nothing saying Fernsong couldn't be a highly empathetic cat who hates stepping on ladybugs and feels bad for killing his prey, but has Lionblaze's bulky body and ends up apologizing while being a big boi who sings back to birds. Who says Reedwhisker doesn't deal with anxiety and he calms himself down by laying in the river and talking to Mothwing who is his therapist? If you want these kind of characters, that's great. Just don't shove it in the reader's faces.
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Personal Pet Peeves
First of all, I utterly hate that Kate and the writers are trying to create this 'groundbreaking' pairing of a sensitive male and tough female, and then claiming it's something never done before. And then shoehorning and shoving it into your face.
If I wrote a story about breaking some gender norm, such a guy wearing dresses, then blatantly shoved it in the reader's face, and touting how progressive I am, it would belittle the reader's intelligence that I didn't think they could read more subtle and nuanced themes on their own. It insults the reader, even. A good relationship happens naturally and without forcing the readers to pick the pieces up and have the authors force these pieces together.
Second, they have zero chemistry. Fernsong was created solely to be a plot device, and one that satellites around Ivypool. He does nothing else, being regulated to a cardboard cutout Ivypool apparently is in love with. It's like JayXHalf, in that all that encompasses Half Moon's personality is her feelings for Jayfeather. If Fernsong was only made to subvert Clan stereotypes and has no other reason beyond existing, that is 1: lazy writing, and 2: insulting to the character.
Third, IVYPOOL SHOWED NO SIGNS OF THIS BEFORE! Nowhere before did she behave like this! I doesn't make sense for her to up and suddenly fall in love when her character has previously shown she isn't that type of character. She directly disapproves of Dovewing's lovestruck nature, is uncaring about the relationships in ThunderClan, and only pushes Dovewing with Bumblestripe because he thinks he would have been better than 'mangy old Tigerheart.' The point is, Ivypool was never shown to behave like this.
-
Why It Does Nothing Revolutionary
I'll be frank. Gender stereotypes aren't prevalent in Warrior society.
For one, queens stay in the nursery because having kits is rough, and their bodies have to recover before they can hunt and fight again. They can leave whenever they want, as was the case with Squirrelflight. In fact, the Clan all watch over the kits, not just the mother. So having Fernsong in there serves no logical purpose, because queens are queens for physical reasons. Unless there is a queen who still has milk, Ivypool will have to feed her kits until they're weaned from milk. Fernsong cannot biologically provide the same sustenance. Fernsong is there to be a concept. And that concept cannot physically do the same task as the queens.
Second, this concept adds nothing new. There are plenty of tough female characters in Warriors who are queens. Ivypool wanting to keep hunting and fighting despite being a queen is not revolutionary. In fact, one could argue all the queens in Warriors fit this, because the very nature of their environment requires them to be strong and able to fend for themselves.
Warriors does not have the same gender roles as our real world society has/used to have. Both genders are expected to do the same tasks and same roles, and there is minimal discrimination against one gender to another. The biggest you'll see of this is the writers themselves tending to excuse male characters for their actions more than the female characters, but in-universe this is not the case in the modern Clan era. Ferncloud is not any less important than Thornclaw, and Lionblaze is treated with the same level of expectation as Icecloud. Both genders do the same roles. Both have equal opportunity.
Third, gentle, soft male characters are not a rarity. You have had Littlecloud, Ravenpaw, Smudge, Brackenfur, Kestrelflight, Flametail, Hollowflight prior the DF, Onewhisker, etc...Fernsong is not a rarity or a groundbreaking concept. A male queen is not a groundbreaking concept either.
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Addressing Fandom Complaints
Now, let's address some of the complaints I hear thrown around about disliking FernXIvy.
1. "They must be mad because their ship isn't canon." Particularly, it pertains to Blossomfall. The biggest argument I see is that 'they must be tumblr users because they hate FernXIvy.' These are generalizations with no backup to prove the point, and attempts to divide people with 'us vs them' rhetoric. I have not seen anyone mention they dislike the pairing because BlossomXIvy didn't happen.
Instead, what I have consistently observed is people giving reasons as to why the shipping seems out of nowhere with no development and does not make logical sense from a narrative perspective.
2. "They're being sexist and insinuating that females can't be mothers and also be queens, as if the two are mutually exclusive."
I have barely seen that either. This is yet another 'us vs them' extremist generalization, and nothing is shown to prove this point.
Instead, what I notice is that people bring it up that it makes no sense from a narrative perspective given her previous behaviors for her to get a mate, not because Ivypool will be made a 'weak' character if she is made a queen. Again, this is jumping to conclusions.
3. "They're being way too critical and should just let people ship what they want."
This isn't some personal attack. It's criticism against the shipping, not people who ship it. People can like what they want.
However, that doesn't mean I have to feel the same way, or anyone else who dislikes the pairing. Criticism is not a bad thing.
-
So, to conclude, FernXIvy's only purpose is to be a concept, with Fernsong's personality revolving around Ivypool just to be her mate and make a 'statement', but ultimately it ends up pointless. Nothing new is added, and with it being blatantly shoved in your face, it's just insulting the reader's intelligence.
If they really want to make a statement, they can address the stigma in the Clans for she-cats to have a mate. Hollyleaf never took a mate, so would it be a stretch for them to just let characters stay single, and/or include more asexual characters? If they want more sensitive toms, then make more Ravenpaws and Littleclouds. There's nothing saying Fernsong couldn't be a highly empathetic cat who hates stepping on ladybugs and feels bad for killing his prey, but has Lionblaze's bulky body and ends up apologizing while being a big boi who sings back to birds. Who says Reedwhisker doesn't deal with anxiety and he calms himself down by laying in the river and talking to Mothwing who is his therapist? If you want these kind of characters, that's great. Just don't shove it in the reader's faces.